14 Replies

Laralou29 Well, your thyroid results are all in range so 'normal' as far as your GP is concerned. It's not really acceptable for your doctor to say he doesn't know what to do with you. It's his job, he trained and qualified as a doctor and now he's paid very well to do the job.

Are you addressing your low B12, ferritin and folate as suggested in your previous post?

Yes your B12 needs to be around a 1000. What dose are you taking ? Ferritin needs to be around 80/90. It is often suggested a GOOD B complex is taken alongside the B12 - but as you are unable to take a tablet this will be difficult.

All I have been diagnosed with so far is ibs. I am waiting for gastroenterology appt in sept. I have been taking vitamin b complex liquid form from Holland and Barrett. I know my ferritin seems low but my iron level is normal which I don't understand.

In the case of ferritin (iron) it takes about 6 months for blood levels to become optimal. So it can take 3-4 months until you feel better.

While B vitamins do show up in serum levels as being optimal quicker if you also have an issue with something that takes a long time to rise, in this case ferritin, then don't expect to feel slightly better until everything is at an adequate level.

A point that Dr. Lazarus makes is well worth emphasizing: Some women with postpartum thyroiditis suffer from hypothyroid symptoms even when their TSH, T3, and T4 levels are "normal." If the patient's thyroid gland is damaged by thyroiditis, however, the thyroglobulin level in the blood and the iodine level in the urine may be increased. So if the postpartum patient with hypothyroid symptoms has "normal" TSH, T3, and T4 levels, she should ask her doctor to test her thyroglobulin blood level and urinary iodine concentration."

Did you have a fasting blood test at the earliest possible time (you can drink water).

Before blood tests were brought in to diagnose hypo, doctors diagnosed us upon clinical symptoms and had a trial of thyroid hormones and if it relieved them that's how they were diagnosed. Thyroid hormones aren't dangerous. This is another link plus excerpt:

Laboratory thyroid function tests tell us nothing whatever about whether a person’s tissue metabolism is sufficient regulated for the person to be healthy. They tell us nothing whatever about a patient's thyroid-hormone-related general metabolic status. Thyroid patient advocates at Thyroid UK are a caring resource for people such as you in the UK. I encourage you to contact them. Their organization’s contact information is at their website: thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/index....

Our TSH is highest early a.m. and drops throughout the day, so an early, fasting blood test might make it high enough to be diagnosed although the British Thyroid Association suggests 10 as a number for being diagnosed whilst elsewhere in the world it is above 3. I never know what to make of this decision as it can lead to a lifetime of illhealth if never diagnosed. Or given other medication for the symptoms but not thyroid hormones.

Also previously doctors diagnosed by symptoms - not the modern method unfortunately,